Nicklas Bendtner has not travelled to Malaysia for the first part of Arsenal's pre-season tour as he closes in on a move away from the club. Borussia Dortmund are leading the chase and the Denmark striker is understood to have opened talks with the German champions. Sporting Lisbon and Benfica are also interested. Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, hopes to raise £9m from Bendtner's sale.

To the disappointment of supporters in Kuala Lumpur, where Arsenal will play a Malaysia XI on Wednesday, the captain, Cesc Fábregas, has not travelled with Wenger citing a "small muscular problem" as the reason.

The midfielder, who looks certain to complete a £35m transfer to Barcelona, was able to make the long-haul flight to Indonesia three weeks ago to promote an Under‑14 football competition in Bali but Arsenal's commercial tour, which will move on to China for a game against Hangzhou Greentown in Yiwu City on Saturday, is beyond him. "Fab-less Gunners" ran the back-page lead in one Malaysian newspaper.

Arsenal also left London at 4pm on Sunday for the 13-hour flight across seven time zones without the goalkeepers Manuel Almunia and Lukasz Fabianski. Like Bendtner, Almunia is in negotiations over a transfer, having fallen from favour after starting last season as Wenger's No1. Atlético Madrid, Malaga and Fenerbahce have declared an interest in the Spaniard.

Fabianski continues to struggle in his rehabilitation from the shoulder injury that required an operation in February. With Jens Lehmann having been released after the expiry of his short-term contract, Wenger's only options in goal are Wojciech Szczesny and Vito Mannone, both of whom are part of the touring party.

Bendtner has made it clear that he can no longer tolerate his status as a bit-part player at Arsenal.

Wenger has all but tied up the £10.6m capture of the Ivory Coast and Lille striker Gervinho, although his signing of a four-year deal comes too late for this tour.

Arsenal's 23-man squad in Asia have been boosted by the inclusion of Samir Nasri, who continues to ignore the offer of a new contract and is a target for both of the Manchester clubs. Emmanuel Eboué (calf) and Abou Diaby (ankle) are unavailable.